Thursday, August 05, 2004

THE OLYMPICS return to their roots next week, as Athens plays host to the athletes more than 2,700 years after the words "Let the Games begin" were first uttered in ancient Greece in 776BC. So what better time than now to celebrate Greek food? Of course what constitutes authentic Greek food, as opposed to the stuff doled out to the five million Brits who visit Greece every year, is quite another matter. Greek restaurateur Theodore Kyriakou has just written a cookery book on this very subject and isn’t convinced that the Games will necessarily have a good impact on his native cuisine’s image. "Yes, visitors will be exposed to more Greek food but it’ll be the same food that they’ve always been used to," he says. "I would advise them to go away from the Olympic village - about ten miles even - and then they’ll taste amazing food: Greece’s special dishes."